United States: The California Consumer Privacy Act Of 2018: Summary And Comparison To GDPR

On June 28, 2018, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018
(CCPA) was signed into law. The bill was drafted and passed
quickly, just prior to a deadline for removing a similar initiative
from the ballot that would have appeared before California voters
in November. Many expect revisions to or guidance regarding the law
to be promulgated prior to the CCPA's entry into force on
Jan.1, 2020. Nonetheless, businesses that will be subject to the
law would be well advised to consider the process of bringing
themselves into compliance sooner rather than later. Some
businesses that will be regulated under the CCPA may also fall
within the ambit of the European Union's General Data
Protection Regulation (GDPR), which became effective on May 25,
2018 (see our previous
publication). This alert will examine the provisions of the
CCPA, drawing comparisons with the GDPR where appropriate, in an
effort to identify the steps covered entities may need to take as
the implementation date for this important new law approaches.

Who Is Protected by the CCPA?

The CCPA will protect "consumers," a term defined to
include natural persons who are California residents. 1798.140(g).
Like the GDPR, the rights granted under the law do not extend to
legal persons like corporations. Art. 4(1).1

Who or What Is Regulated by the CCPA?

To come within the regulatory reach of the CCPA, a business must
collect "personal information" from consumers, it must
"do[ ] business" in California for profit or for the
financial benefit of shareholders, and must meet or surpass one of
the following three minimum thresholds:

$25 million in annual gross revenue

Buy, receive for commercial purposes, sell, or share for
commercial purposes, the personal information of 50,000 or more
consumers

Derive 50 percent or more of annual revenue from selling
consumers' personal information

1798.140(c).

"Personal information" is defined as "information
that identifies, relates to, describes, is capable of being
associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or
indirectly, with a particular consumer or household."
1798.140(o). The CCPA goes on to offer a nonexhaustive but
extensive list of examples of data that qualify as personal
information. The list includes:

Standard personal information, such as name, address, or
government ID numbers

Commercial information including goods or services purchased by
the consumer

Web-based information including browsing and search
history

Geolocation data

Information related to a consumer's employment or
education

Inferences drawn from the above types of information to create
consumer profiles

As in the CCPA, the definition of "personal data" in
the GDPR is quite broad, encompassing most pieces of information
that relate to an identifiable natural person. Art. 4(1). But in a
notable difference from the GDPR, the definition of "personal
information" in the CCPA excludes "publicly available
information," meaning information that is lawfully available
through government records. In another difference, the GDPR
identifies "special categories of personal data" that are
entitled to extra protections, whereas the CCPA recognizes personal
information as a single category that may be composed of different
kinds of data. Art. 9. Note that the CCPA uses the statutorily
defined term "business" to refer to the entities that
will be regulated under the law, while the GDPR regulates the
"controllers" who determine what personal data is
collected and the "processors" who process personal data
on behalf of controllers. Art. 4(7)-(8).

What it means to "do[ ] business" in California is not
defined in the CCPA, though the term is generally understood
broadly under other California statutes. For example, the
California Revenue and Taxation Code, Section 23101, provides that
a company is doing business in California if it is "actively
engaging in any transaction for the purpose of financial or
pecuniary gain or profit" in California.

It may also be worthwhile to observe that the scope of the CCPA
is tethered to the locus of the consumer—that is, it is
focused on protecting the rights of people resident in California.
The CCPA is not concerned with the manner in which California-based
businesses handle the personal data of non-Californian consumers.
By contrast, the GDPR regulates businesses established in the EU,
regardless of whether the personal data collected concerns EU
citizens or not, as well as businesses located outside the EU that
offer goods or services in the EU and process the data of EU
citizens.

What Rights Does the CCPA Establish for Consumers?

Making reference to past breaches of consumer privacy and
observing that "[p]eople desire privacy and more control over
their information," the CCPA grants California consumers new
rights over the personal information collected about them by
covered businesses. These rights in turn create responsibilities
for those businesses that will be regulated under the law. The
section below summarizes the rights granted to consumers under the
CCPA and the steps businesses must take to ensure that these rights
are protected.

Right to Know What Information Is Collected About You

The CCPA grants consumers the right to request that businesses
disclose the "categories and specific pieces of personal
information the business has collected" about them.
1798.100(a).

To effectuate this right, the CCPA places several affirmative
obligations on regulated businesses. Before collecting a
consumer's personal information, a business must inform
consumers of the categories of personal information that it
collects about them. This will likely be accomplished through the
business's privacy policy (see section below). Businesses are
prohibited from collecting personal information from a consumer
that would fall outside of the categories of information that it
discloses it collects about consumers. 1798.100(b).

Upon request, a business must disclose to a consumer:

The categories of personal information it has collected about
the consumer

The categories of sources from which the personal information
was collected

The business purpose behind collecting the personal
information

The categories of third parties with whom the business has
shared the information

The specific pieces of personal information it has collected
about the consumer

1798.110(a).

This information may be provided to the consumer electronically
or by mail. If transmitted electronically, the data "shall be
portable" and, to the extent possible, provided "in a
readily useable format that allows the consumer to transmit this
information to another entity without hindrance." 1798.100(d).
Businesses are not, however, obliged to retain personal information
for one-time transactions, so long as that information is not
retained by the business or sold to a third party. The CCPA calls
on the attorney general to adopt regulations concerning how
businesses should verify consumer requests to ensure that
businesses only share personal information with the consumer to
whom the personal information relates. 1798.185(a)(7).

Like the CCPA, the GDPR allows data subjects to request
information about the personal data that the controller has
collected about them, though it distinguishes personal data
obtained from the data subject and personal data obtained from
outside parties. When personal data is collected from someone other
than the data subjects, the GDPR grants data subjects the
additional right to know from what sources the personal data
originated. Art. 14. But the GDPR also identifies a number of
situations in which controllers and processors need not share
information with the data subject when the information was
collected from an outside party, including if the data subject
already has the information, where provision of the requested
information would be "impossible or would involve a
disproportionate effort," where an EU member state provides
for different rules that protect the data subject's legitimate
interests, or where the personal data must remain confidential
subject to "an obligation of professional secrecy" or a
statutory obligation of secrecy. When it comes to requesting a copy
of the personal information a controller or processor has obtained
about a data subject, the GDPR makes no distinction—data
subjects have the right to a copy of the personal data that was
collected about them regardless of the source, with the caveat that
this right "shall not adversely affect the rights and freedoms
of others." Art. 15.

Right to Request Deletion

The CCPA grants consumers the right to request that businesses
delete any personal information about the consumer that the
business has collected from the consumer. 1798.105. Note that the
CCPA does not grant consumers the right to request that a business
delete personal information obtained from someone other than the
consumer.

To effectuate this right, the CCPA provides that regulated
businesses must:

Inform consumers of their right to request deletion of
information (see privacy policy section below). 1798.105(b).

Delete consumers' personal information upon request and
"direct any service providers to delete the consumer's
personal information from their records." 105(c).

The CCPA does, however, indicate a number of circumstances in
which a business need not comply with a consumer request to delete
personal information. These include situations where the personal
information is necessary to complete a transaction, to detect or
prevent fraudulent activity, to comply with a legal obligation, or
"[t]o enable solely internal uses that are reasonably aligned
with the expectations of the consumer based on the consumer's
relationship with the business." 1798.105(d).

The GDPR contains a similar provision, referred to as the
"right to be forgotten," allowing data subjects the right
to have personal data concerning them deleted by the data
controller under certain circumstances. Data subjects enjoy this
right regardless of the source from which the data was obtained.
Art. 17. As with the CCPA's right to deletion, the GDPR's
right to be forgotten is cabined by several exceptions, allowing
controllers to deny erasure requests when doing so is part of an
exercise of free expression; is necessary for compliance with a
legal obligation or the establishment, exercise or defense of legal
claims; or when retaining the data is in the public interest. The
GDPR also allows data subjects to request that controllers
implement restrictions on the use of their personal data in certain
circumstances, and requires businesses to notify any recipient to
whom they have disclosed the subject's personal data of any
limitations or erasures requested by the subject that they have
implemented. Art. 18-19.

Right to Request Disclosures About Personal Information That Is
Sold

Californians have the right to request that businesses that sell
consumer personal information, or that disclose personal
information for a business purpose, provide information regarding
these practices to the consumer upon request. 1798.115. The
consumer may seek the following information from a business engaged
in selling personal information:

The categories of personal information collected about the
consumer

The categories of personal information that were sold, and the
category or categories of third parties to whom the personal
information was sold

The categories of personal information that the business
disclosed about the consumer for a "business
purpose"

Use of personal information for a "business purpose"
is defined to mean use that is "reasonably necessary and
proportionate to achieve the operational purpose for which the
personal information was collected or processed." The CCPA
provides several examples of "business purpose[s],"
including detecting security incidents, providing advertising or
marketing services, processing payments, and other purposes.
1798.140(d). Businesses engaged in selling personal information are
required to make affirmative disclosures to this effect, as
explained in the privacy policy section below.

Right to Opt Out of the Sale of Personal Information

The CCPA also allows consumers to demand that businesses cease
and desist from selling their personal information, referring to
this ability as "the right to opt out." 1798.120. The
CCPA adopts an "opt in" framework where selling a
child's personal information is concerned: affirmative parental
consent is required before the sale of personal information
regarding a child under 13 years of age, while affirmative
"opt in" consent is required by the consumer for
consumers between 13 and 16 years of age. 1798.120(d). The GDPR
generally requires parental consent for any processing of a
subject's data where the data subject is under 16 years of age.
Art. 8. These provisions may be of special relevance for businesses
operating in the social media space.

The GDPR does not focus directly on the potential sale of
personal data to the same degree as the CCPA, whose drafters
pointed specifically to Cambridge Analytica's improper use of
Facebook user data as a motivation for passage of the law. But the
absence of specific language addressing the sale of personal
information does not mean the GDPR has nothing to say on the
subject. On the contrary, the GDPR requires controllers to inform
data subjects of the recipients or categories of recipients that
have received their personal data (Art. 13-15) and to inform
recipients of personal data of any restrictions or erasures
undertaken at the request of the data subjects (Art. 19). It also
grants data subjects the right to object to the use of their
personal data for direct marketing purposes. Art. 21. Most
importantly, under the GDPR, any "processing" of personal
data, which would include "disclosure by transmission" or
"otherwise making available" personal data to a
recipient, must be based on one of the six lawful grounds for
personal data processing articulated in Article 6. To the extent
that any sale of personal data was based on the consent of the data
subject (consent being one of the lawful bases for processing
included in Article 6), withdrawal of the data subject's
consent would render any subsequent sale unlawful under the
GDPR.

Right to Be Free From Discrimination

Businesses are barred from discriminating against consumers that
exercise their rights under the CCPA. 1798.125. Specifically,
following a demand from the consumer to stop selling their personal
information, a business may not:

Deny goods or services to the consumer

Charge different prices for goods or services

Provide a different quality of goods or services

"Suggest" that the consumer will receive a different
price or quality of goods or services

The drafters of the CCPA, however, included a qualification to
the non-discrimination provision. The CCPA provides that businesses
may still charge "a consumer a different price or rate, or
[provide] a different level or quality of goods or services to the
consumer, if that difference is reasonably related to the value
provided to the consumer by the consumer's data."
1798.125(a)(2). In other words, a business may provide a different
level of service or charge a different price if a limitation
imposed by the consumer on the use of his or her personal
information affects the business's ability to provide a good or
service to the consumer. The CCPA also provides that businesses may
offer incentives to consumers for the collection or sale of
personal information, though these financial incentives may not be
"unreasonable" and are subject to an "opt in"
from consumers that they may revoke at their will. 1798.125(b).

What Should Businesses Include in a Privacy Policy?

Consistent with its nature as a disclosure statute, the CCPA
includes a requirement that businesses describe the rights of
consumers in a privacy policy or on the business's website.
1798.130(5). The privacy policy must contain:

A description of consumers' right to request disclosures
regarding the personal information that has been collected about
them, including the specific pieces of personal information the
business has collected

A description of consumers' right to request information
about any sale or disclosure of their personal information

A statement of consumers' protection against discrimination
in the event that a consumer exercises any of their rights under
the CCPA

A list of the categories of personal information collected
about consumers in the past 12 months. The CCPA directs that the
categories of information track the types of "personal
information" listed in the statutory definition of that term
(name, address, browsing or search history, etc.).
1798.140(o).

A list of the categories of personal information it has sold in
the preceding 12 months or an affirmation that the business has
sold no personal information

A list of categories of personal information it has disclosed
about consumers for a business purpose in the preceding 12 months
or an affirmation that the business has made no such
disclosures

While the GDPR does not require businesses to implement a
privacy policy per se, regulated controllers and processors are
required to plainly convey to data subjects a variety of
information regarding the use of their personal data, including the
purposes of processing personal data, any sharing of personal data
with third parties, the period for which personal data will be
stored, and the right to request access to or deletion of personal
data. Thus, as a practical matter, both laws require substantial
disclosures to the consumer, whether or not they are contained in a
document (or on a webpage) specifically designated as a
"privacy policy."

How Should a Business Field Requests From Consumers?

As discussed above, the CCPA requires that businesses field
requests from consumers about their personal information. To
facilitate these interactions, the CCPA mandates that covered
businesses establish two means by which consumers may make requests
under the CCPA. These must include a toll-free telephone number
and, if the business maintains a website, a URL where requests may
be made. 1798.130(1). Information properly requested by a consumer
under the CCPA must cover the preceding 12-month period and be
delivered, free of charge, within 45 days of the request. Those
businesses that sell personal information must maintain a
"clear and conspicuous link" titled "Do Not Sell My
Personal Information" on its webpage, and link to that page in
any online privacy policy or specific description of the rights of
California consumers. 1798.135. The link should deliver consumers
to a webpage where they may opt out of the sale of their personal
information.

How Is the CCPA Enforced?

The CCPA permits private individuals to sue in the event of any
unauthorized "exfiltration, theft, or disclosure" that
results from the regulated business's failure to
"implement and maintain reasonable security procedures and
practices appropriate to the nature" of the personal
information they hold. 1798.150. Should such a situation arise,
private plaintiffs may recover:

The greater of $750 per consumer per incident, or actual
damages

Injunctive or declaratory relief

Any other relief the court deems proper

The CCPA does, however, place limits on private plaintiffs'
ability to bring claims. Any individual pursuing this course must
notify the business of the specific provisions of the CCPA the
consumer believes were violated and give the business 30 days to
"cure" the violations. In the event the business succeeds
in curing the violations, notifies the consumer, and assures him or
her no further violations will occur, no individual or class-wide
damages may be pursued. Consumers seeking only "actual
pecuniary damages" as a result of a breach are not required to
provide this notice. 1798.150(b)(1).

Once a private action has been initiated, plaintiffs must notify
the attorney general within 30 days of filing a claim. Upon receipt
of this notice, the attorney general may allow the private
plaintiff to proceed, pursue his or her own enforcement action, or
decide that the private plaintiff may not proceed with the action.
1798.150(b)(3). The CCPA also empowers the attorney general to
pursue civil penalties against businesses that intentionally
violate the law. Penalties for intentional violations may be
assessed at up to $7,500 per violation. 1798.155(b).

Importantly, the CCPA insulates a business from liability when
it shares personal information with a service provider and the
service provider uses the personal information in violation of the
CCPA, so long as the business had no reason to believe that the
service provider intended to commit a violation. Reciprocally, the
CCPA relieves service providers of liability for any violations
committed by the business that collected the personal information.
1798.145(h).

The GDPR takes a different approach to enforcement, calling on
each EU member state to establish its own Data Protection Authority
(DPA) endowed with the power to issue fines for violations of the
GDPR. The GDPR itself guarantees data subjects the right to an
"effective judicial remedy" when their rights have been
violated, regardless of the particular enforcement powers or
actions of an individual DPA. Art. 78-79. Both the GDPR and CCPA
grant individuals whose data privacy rights have been violated the
right to seek compensation, though recovery can be obtained under
the CCPA only in the event of a breach. Neither law appears to
require proof of actual damage—the GDPR allows individuals to
receive compensation for both "material and non-material
damage," while the CCPA leaves room for private suits
regardless of actual damage in providing for damages of up to $750
per consumer per data breach "or actual damages, whichever is
greater." Art. 82; 1798.150.

General Exceptions to the CCPA

The CCPA carves out a variety of special contexts in which its
provisions will not apply. Several exceptions relate to legal
obligations, providing that the requirements of the CCPA will not
restrict a business's ability to comply with federal or state
laws or with civil or criminal process, exercise or defend legal
claims, or maintain privileged communications. Nor does the CCPA
apply to health information collected by entities covered under
laws and regulations concerning medical and health insurance
information, personal information sold to or by a consumer
reporting agency if the information will be used in a consumer
report, or personal information collected pursuant to the
Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act or the Driver's Privacy Protection Act.
1798.145.

Overall Comparison to GDPR

While the GDPR and CCPA both seek to protect personal privacy,
they differ from one another in important respects. At a
fundamental level, the CCPA is a statute about disclosure and
transparency. It requires businesses to proactively disclose to
consumers the kinds of personal information that they collect and
to tell consumers if they plan to sell consumers' personal
data. It gives consumers the right to request the specific personal
data that businesses have collected about them, to request that the
information be deleted, and to opt out of the sale of their
personal information to third parties. Though the liability portion
of the statute subjects covered businesses to lawsuits when their
failure to "implement and maintain reasonable security
procedures and practices" results in the unauthorized
disclosure of personal information, the CCPA has relatively little
to say about what security procedures and practices are
"reasonable."

As a more comprehensive, "General" regulation, the
GDPR goes into greater detail as to how personal data should be
protected, containing an entire chapter addressing the measures
that data controllers and processors may need to adopt to maintain
the security of personal data. The GDPR provides that data
controllers and processors of significant size generally must
maintain specific records regarding their processing of personal
data (Art. 30), use encryption where appropriate (Art. 32),
undertake data protection impact assessments prior to using
personal data in new ways that may pose a risk to the privacy of
data subjects (Art. 35), and must designate a data protection
officer where the controller or processor processes personal data
on a large scale (Art. 37). The GDPR also grants rights to
consumers that the CCPA does not. The GDPR gives data subjects the
right to request that those who control their personal information
rectify any mistakes contained therein (Art. 16), the right to
request that restrictions be placed on the use of their data
instead of outright deletion (Art. 18), and requires businesses to
report data breaches to the relevant DPA and to affected data
subjects (Art. 33-34).

Thus, in most respects, the CCPA is relatively more modest than
the GDPR. It focuses on disclosure, whereas the more ambitious GDPR
provides data subjects more rights and imposes more obligations on
data controllers and processors.

Conclusion

The CCPA will not enter into force for well over a year, but
given the technological and compliance-related measures covered
businesses may be obliged to undertake, it's not too soon to
consider preparations. Businesses that are subject to the GDPR and
have sought to comply with its provisions may already have
satisfied the CCPA's requirement that businesses implement and
maintain reasonable security procedures and practices designed to
secure personal information. They are also likely to have already
disclosed much of the information that is required under the CCPA.
However, given the particularities of the CCPA, even those
businesses that are fully in compliance with the GDPR will likely
need to take additional measures to satisfy the provisions of the
CCPA when it becomes operative in 2020. Businesses should begin to
evaluate whether they are subject to the CCPA, identify steps that
will be required to comply with its provisions, and stay tuned for
guidance or regulations concerning the CCPA from the California
attorney general.

Footnote

1 References to the GDPR appear as citations to articles
(Art.). References to the CCPA appear as citations to the
provisions added to California Civil Code at section 1798 by the
CCPA.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.

To print this article, all you need is to be registered on Mondaq.com.

Click to Login as an existing user or Register so you can print this article.

This service is completely free. Access 250,000 archived articles from 100+ countries and get a personalised email twice a week covering developments (and yes, our lawyers like to think you’ve read our Disclaimer).

Email Address

Company Name

Password

Confirm Password

Position

Mondaq Topics -- Select your Interests

Accounting

Anti-trust

Commercial

Compliance

Consumer

Criminal

Employment

Energy

Environment

Family

Finance

Government

Healthcare

Immigration

Insolvency

Insurance

International

IP

Law Performance

Law Practice

Litigation

Media & IT

Privacy

Real Estate

Strategy

Tax

Technology

Transport

Wealth Mgt

Regions

Africa

Asia

Asia Pacific

Australasia

Canada

Caribbean

Europe

European Union

Latin America

Middle East

U.K.

United States

Worldwide Updates

Registration (you must scroll down to set your data preferences)

Mondaq Ltd requires you to register and provide information that personally identifies you, including your content preferences, for three primary purposes (full details of Mondaq’s use of your personal data can be found in our Privacy and Cookies Notice):

To allow you to personalize the Mondaq websites you are visiting to show content ("Content") relevant to your interests.

To enable features such as password reminder, news alerts, email a colleague, and linking from Mondaq (and its affiliate sites) to your website.

Mondaq hopes that our registered users will support us in maintaining our free to view business model by consenting to our use of your personal data as described below.

Mondaq has a "free to view" business model. Our services are paid for by Contributors in exchange for Mondaq providing them with access to information about who accesses their content. Once personal data is transferred to our Contributors they become a data controller of this personal data. They use it to measure the response that their articles are receiving, as a form of market research. They may also use it to provide Mondaq users with information about their products and services.

Details of each Contributor to which your personal data will be transferred is clearly stated within the Content that you access. For full details of how this Contributor will use your personal data, you should review the Contributor’s own Privacy Notice.

Please indicate your preference below:

Yes, I am happy to support Mondaq in maintaining its free to view business model by agreeing to allow Mondaq to share my personal data with Contributors whose Content I access

No, I do not want Mondaq to share my personal data with Contributors

Also please let us know whether you are happy to receive communications promoting products and services offered by Mondaq:

Yes, I am happy to received promotional communications from Mondaq

No, please do not send me promotional communications from Mondaq

Terms & Conditions

Mondaq.com (the Website) is owned and managed by Mondaq Ltd (Mondaq). Mondaq grants you a non-exclusive, revocable licence to access the Website and associated services, such as the Mondaq News Alerts (Services), subject to and in consideration of your compliance with the following terms and conditions of use (Terms). Your use of the Website and/or Services constitutes your agreement to the Terms. Mondaq may terminate your use of the Website and Services if you are in breach of these Terms or if Mondaq decides to terminate the licence granted hereunder for any reason whatsoever.

Use of www.mondaq.com

To Use Mondaq.com you must be: eighteen (18) years old or over; legally capable of entering into binding contracts; and not in any way prohibited by the applicable law to enter into these Terms in the jurisdiction which you are currently located.

You may use the Website as an unregistered user, however, you are required to register as a user if you wish to read the full text of the Content or to receive the Services.

You may not modify, publish, transmit, transfer or sell, reproduce, create derivative works from, distribute, perform, link, display, or in any way exploit any of the Content, in whole or in part, except as expressly permitted in these Terms or with the prior written consent of Mondaq. You may not use electronic or other means to extract details or information from the Content. Nor shall you extract information about users or Contributors in order to offer them any services or products.

In your use of the Website and/or Services you shall: comply with all applicable laws, regulations, directives and legislations which apply to your Use of the Website and/or Services in whatever country you are physically located including without limitation any and all consumer law, export control laws and regulations; provide to us true, correct and accurate information and promptly inform us in the event that any information that you have provided to us changes or becomes inaccurate; notify Mondaq immediately of any circumstances where you have reason to believe that any Intellectual Property Rights or any other rights of any third party may have been infringed; co-operate with reasonable security or other checks or requests for information made by Mondaq from time to time; and at all times be fully liable for the breach of any of these Terms by a third party using your login details to access the Website and/or Services

however, you shall not: do anything likely to impair, interfere with or damage or cause harm or distress to any persons, or the network; do anything that will infringe any Intellectual Property Rights or other rights of Mondaq or any third party; or use the Website, Services and/or Content otherwise than in accordance with these Terms; use any trade marks or service marks of Mondaq or the Contributors, or do anything which may be seen to take unfair advantage of the reputation and goodwill of Mondaq or the Contributors, or the Website, Services and/or Content.

Mondaq reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to take any action that it deems necessary and appropriate in the event it considers that there is a breach or threatened breach of the Terms.

Mondaq’s Rights and Obligations

Unless otherwise expressly set out to the contrary, nothing in these Terms shall serve to transfer from Mondaq to you, any Intellectual Property Rights owned by and/or licensed to Mondaq and all rights, title and interest in and to such Intellectual Property Rights will remain exclusively with Mondaq and/or its licensors.

Mondaq shall use its reasonable endeavours to make the Website and Services available to you at all times, but we cannot guarantee an uninterrupted and fault free service.

Mondaq reserves the right to make changes to the services and/or the Website or part thereof, from time to time, and we may add, remove, modify and/or vary any elements of features and functionalities of the Website or the services.

Mondaq also reserves the right from time to time to monitor your Use of the Website and/or services.

Disclaimer

The Content is general information only. It is not intended to constitute legal advice or seek to be the complete and comprehensive statement of the law, nor is it intended to address your specific requirements or provide advice on which reliance should be placed. Mondaq and/or its Contributors and other suppliers make no representations about the suitability of the information contained in the Content for any purpose. All Content provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. Mondaq and/or its Contributors and other suppliers hereby exclude and disclaim all representations, warranties or guarantees with regard to the Content, including all implied warranties and conditions of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title and non-infringement. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Mondaq expressly excludes all representations, warranties, obligations, and liabilities arising out of or in connection with all Content. In no event shall Mondaq and/or its respective suppliers be liable for any special, indirect or consequential damages or any damages whatsoever resulting from loss of use, data or profits, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other tortious action, arising out of or in connection with the use of the Content or performance of Mondaq’s Services.

General

Mondaq may alter or amend these Terms by amending them on the Website. By continuing to Use the Services and/or the Website after such amendment, you will be deemed to have accepted any amendment to these Terms.

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales and you irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales to settle any dispute which may arise out of or in connection with these Terms. If you live outside the United Kingdom, English law shall apply only to the extent that English law shall not deprive you of any legal protection accorded in accordance with the law of the place where you are habitually resident ("Local Law"). In the event English law deprives you of any legal protection which is accorded to you under Local Law, then these terms shall be governed by Local Law and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with these Terms shall be subject to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts where you are habitually resident.

You may print and keep a copy of these Terms, which form the entire agreement between you and Mondaq and supersede any other communications or advertising in respect of the Service and/or the Website.

No delay in exercising or non-exercise by you and/or Mondaq of any of its rights under or in connection with these Terms shall operate as a waiver or release of each of your or Mondaq’s right. Rather, any such waiver or release must be specifically granted in writing signed by the party granting it.

If any part of these Terms is held unenforceable, that part shall be enforced to the maximum extent permissible so as to give effect to the intent of the parties, and the Terms shall continue in full force and effect.

Mondaq shall not incur any liability to you on account of any loss or damage resulting from any delay or failure to perform all or any part of these Terms if such delay or failure is caused, in whole or in part, by events, occurrences, or causes beyond the control of Mondaq. Such events, occurrences or causes will include, without limitation, acts of God, strikes, lockouts, server and network failure, riots, acts of war, earthquakes, fire and explosions.

By clicking Register you state you have read and agree to our Terms and Conditions